People are now gradually realizing the foremost need to secure health. This explains the increasing number of people getting inclined towards buying health insurance plans. However, buying health insurance involves paying premium charges, which may be high depending on the choice of the insurance company and the benefits that you had opted for.
Many people are unaware of factors that affect health insurance premium prices. Not that the concept of health insurance is new, but ignorance of essential elements of health insurance has resulted in many people choosing the wrong health insurance plan or paying more for the same coverage. Considering that an increasing number of people are suffering from some disorder due to pollution or the pervasiveness of critical disorders, buying the right health insurance policy with an adequate coverage amount has become essential.
However, a little knowledge about a few basic elements of health insurance can help you in saving on insurance premiums. Some of them include:-
Compare Plans Before Buying
No two health insurance plans sold by different health insurance companies are the same. This means that it helps to compare the different health insurance quotes particular to each health insurance policy. Contrasting the coverage options corresponding to the premium rates these companies charge will help interested customers make the right choice of health insurance. While buying a health insurance plan is imperative to secure oneself and dependents from rising costs of hospitalization and subsequent treatment, it does not make sense to pay more for the same benefits.
Opt for a Higher Deductible
Some health insurance companies allow you to choose your deductible amount. The deductible option means that you are ready to bear a portion of the expenses during the payment of the hospital bills. This means that choosing a higher annual deductible avails you the benefits of having to pay low premiums even for a large health cover. This option of choosing a higher annual deductible amount suits those policyholders best who do not rush to doctors or hospitals regularly with frivolous complaints. If you are looking for an economical health insurance plan in a bid to secure against sudden hospitalization or treatment in future, then informing the insurer about your intent to choose a high deductible helps.
Healthy Lifestyle
What you eat or drink not only has a decisive effect on your health, but also a prolonged impact on your chances of suffering from health disorders. This, in turn, affects the risk factor associated with your health, thus, prompting insurance companies to inquire about your smoking and drinking habits. It is important that you refrain from addictive substances including cigarettes, alcohol or drugs to ensure paying lower premiums throughout the entire policy period.
Normal Blood Pressure
Do you always remain tensed or does your stress level affect your blood pressure? If you are suffering from high blood pressure and are prone to panic attacks or stroke, then the insurance companies will either refrain from selling their health insurance plans to you or charge you higher than others. Ensure that you eat well and are not prone to high blood pressure risks to ensure paying nominal premium rates.
Avoid Making Frivolous Claims
Just because you have bought health insurance does not mean that you start making claims on the treatment of every trivial ailment. You must claim only if and when necessary to avoid paying large hospitalization bills. Moreover, insurance companies reward their customers by allowing discounts on premium charges during renewal corresponding to the number of claim-free years.
Opening and Seasonal Discounts
Insurance companies announce discounts to their customers while unveiling any new product. Similarly, some of them also allow their customers seasonal discounts to their customers during particular months of the year. Stay alert to news informing such discounts, as they can help you save you on health insurance prices in the long run.
Buy Necessary Cover Only
Contemplating that you would need a health cover too big would be an act of folly. Think reasonably. Take into account your history of illnesses, the likelihood of your loved ones falling ill, likelihood of genetic disorders and your budget before deciding on a reasonable cover amount. Buying an extremely big cover does not serve the necessary purpose and only results in unnecessary high premium charges.
Opt for Top-Up and Super Top-Up Plans
These plans act like health insurance plans, albeit with the ability to extend a greater amount of protection. Not much different from health insurance policies, these plans come with the added benefits of deductibles. The deductible limit is the threshold beyond which your health insurance company would not pay the bills as the policyholders can claim to the extent as predetermined while buying the policy.
Type of Health Insurance Policy
The kind of health insurance plan you opt for has also a determining effect on the premium charges you pay. While your idea and extent of coverage may be according to the possibility of a treatment that you would need in future, a lot depends on the size of your family covered under the health insurance policy, age of your loved ones, history of medical illnesses and their vulnerability to health problems. Also, the premiums of individual health plans and family health insurance coverage are starkly different. Though family floater policies have more benefits and cover more, the premiums one has to pay towards these plans is way more than the individual health insurance plans.
Expenses on financial instruments including paying premiums towards insurance, especially health insurance policies must be done after a lot of consideration. Know which factors affect the insurance price rates. In addition, it is important that you understand the services or benefits corresponding to which you are being charged. Beware of signing for benefits that you would not need in the long run. Insurance is bought to secure you against sudden and unforeseen expenses in the future, so spend wisely.
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